Project Reality Forums

Thinking about PR's current Combat Engineers, I came to the conclusion that they are next to useless in a role on the Battlefield. In the Project Reality Manual, v. 0.87 on pg 20, the comment for the kit is as follows:

"Places high explosives"

whereas IRL,

" ...constructing/breaching trenches, tank traps and other fortifications, bunker construction, bridge and road construction or destruction, laying or clearing landmines and general engineering tasks under fire..." -Wikipedia

The only useful things Combat Engineers do in PR is manipulate minefields; which apparently vanish twenty minutes after their death. They have C4, but it isn't commonly used for anything. In fact, the two things it's good for is bridge demolition and booby traps, neither of which is of any importance in modern PR tactics.

I vote that Combat Engineers should be given the option to

• Repair and destroy bridges
• Use breaching slugs
• Place FOB fortifications without being a squad leader
• Have at least 3 incendiary grenades
• The ability to remove grenade traps(and trip flares)

The goal of these additions additions will hopefully make the combat engineer a useful kit that can be assimilated into a infantry squad rather than have a niche role in the Battlefield.

Engineer als often used for heavy explosive stuff or supply squads. They have the ability to build FOB's and everythng and are able to shovel things themselves as well.
Reparing bridges is quite unrealistic to be honest. And I'm not talking about repairing it with a wrench, I'm talking about one guy repairing an entire bridge. Meh, I like how it is now.

Removing grenade traps, IED's and such would be a nice feature though.

yeah.
that bridge repairing thing should be somehow add to the mod.
yeah,its not realistic but is that realistic to have jets flying in 16km size area?
there lots of things that are not realistic but that repairing thing would bring a little tactical option to the game.
maybe you need 3 crates to the bridge that you can fix the bridge.
maybe you need showel that bridge about 5 minutes if you wanna get that fixed.

I believe it is impossible to remove grenade traps/trip flares as an engineer. I think this has been said before by the R-DEVs. I'm not digging for a quote at the moment so don't take it as gospel.

Another thing is, as far as I know, the commrose options for placing firebases aren't attached to kits, they're set to whether someone is a SL or not. If I pick up an SL kit and I'm a squad member, I don't get the SL options. Not sure if that can be done, either.

And you obviously haven't seen the kit used too much if you haven't seen minefield/C4 ambushes. A four man squad with Officer, L-AT, C.E. and Medic can cut off the entire Chinese team on Op. Barracuda or completely deny the US vehicle access to the west side of the river on Qwai.

As it is, Combat Engineers (on top of what's already been said) can use their wrenches to build tank traps at twice the speed and can place assets on their own.

I'd definitely like to see the ability for the wrench to do the same for other assets such as FOBs themselves though. That would make sense if it can already do it for wire.

Perhaps make things like the deployable TOWs, deployable AAs/MGs only placeable by combat engineers? This would give some importance to the kit, although I'm pretty sure this is also impossible following the same reasoning that commrose options couldn't be attached to kits. Again, not gospel, so don't quote me on it

Real soldiers very often disarm or atleast try to disarm IEDs... They just hope Terry Taliban isn't watching.

Protector wrote:Real soldiers very often disarm or atleast try to disarm IEDs... They just hope Terry Taliban isn't watching.

Well..at least they try to. That does not mean they will succeed

On the otherhand I'm agree with the Combat Engineer kit. One of the kits I'm not using at all. So while basicly I back-up the original suggestion I want to add an extra point. Would be nice that CEs can repair APCs/Tanks. Not a full cover of course but at least they may give a hand to stabilize it until it reaches base to repair.

Astromici wrote: I vote that Combat Engineers should be given the option to

• Repair and destroy bridges
• Use breaching slugs
• Place FOB fortifications without being a squad leader
• Have at least 3 incendiary grenades
• The ability to remove grenade traps(and trip flares)

First one: Can destroy, repairing Bridges requires alot of equipment and a team of 8-30 Engineers IRL, with lots of heavy equipment, one engineer won't be able to do it also bear in mind that some sort of deployable bridge is being made, when i suggested it I got a scary wink from Rhino

Second: Just have your specialist do this.

Third: Just let your SL do it

Fourth: Fair Enough

Fifth: Yes please

Also we need more than 2 Engineers per team, maybe a different Engineer Kit with a Smaller amount if PE4 and No mine, 1 per squad, so SLs will be going "I Need an Engineer, Medic, and LMG."

They should also be able to pick up IEDs with their wrenches. Engineers CAN take away IEDs - sure they could get blown up, but if they're brave enough they can do it, just like in PR if you want to try and disarm an IED - you could get killed by the guy watching his IED

Also HellDuke - They can pick up mines with the wrench

P.s:

Why is there an Advert saying "Bridges for sale!"... Maybe we should get an Option to ring BeaverBridges.com and get them to install a new temporary bridge xD

HellDuke wrote:

Though disarming mines would be usefull

You are able to disarm mines as a combat eginner

Pointless to be able to disable an ied, if it doesnt go off when you get near it then the owner is likely already dead and its harmless anyways. Ive blown up plenty of combat engys trying to wrench up my mines at the main base on Fallujah.

Besides, EOD are more the ones who do that job and they use robots to disarm and retreive and then detonate the explosives in a controlled enviroment.

I don't think its pointless as even if the IED trigger man is dead the IED still poses a threat mentally as you can never be sure, so I would say possibly losing 1 man over 1 humvee full of men is better. Also I believe the majority of the time it is a man who disarms an IED not a robot as people can't always take a robot on patrol with them.

we need "Robot" as a playable kit in PR.

Th3Exiled wrote:They can though, just drop the repair station from your logistics truck.

Exiled.

yeah...and there is an supply truck on every corner

i like the idea a combat enginer is worth tickets 5 i think, so i think this could maybe be upped to 10 (if its not at 5 then it should be) so it is a valuable asset(which it is anyway) and should be as this would represent the equipment and number on men need to do what he does whcih is destroy bridges,place mine feilds etc.

Protector wrote:Real soldiers very often disarm or atleast try to disarm IEDs... They just hope Terry Taliban isn't watching.

They sure do, they blow it up